What is the best way to make a stacked cake?
I have tried:
* The Wilton method - using cardboard cake circles underneath the cakes. Problem is it leaves a huge gap between the bottom of the cake it's under & the top of the cake it's on.
* Foam core board- with this method there is no gap, but it is extremely time consuming. I have to bake the cakes, then trace out a circle from my plastic wrapped cake, then cut out the circle with a hot knife, then measure & cut out contact paper, then wrap the top & sides with the contact paper, then measure & cut another piece of contact paper for the bottom. I love the look, but it takes so much time.
What other options are there?
Thanks in advance 
You dont need to cover the foam core unless it is for the large base. At least I don't.
I have the stress-free support system which is really nice but expensive so its something you have to make sure you get back each time. You can go to earlenescakes.com and see it.
I also have the Coastal plate system which is a lot cheaper. But its basically the same thing where you have plastic plates that are held up by plastic columns that are inside the cake.
Sharon (Sugarshack) uses foamcore and large straws and doweled down the center. Great video by the way. I highly suggest any of her videos because their all very imformative for newbies and professionals alike.
All work really well.
What is the best way to make a stacked cake?
I have tried:
* The Wilton method - using cardboard cake circles underneath the cakes. Problem is it leaves a huge gap between the bottom of the cake it's under & the top of the cake it's on.
Why do you have a huge gap in between the tiers with this method? Are you talking about fondant or BC? Do you put a border on the bottom of the tiers?
I am confused too..what do you mean by Gap?
If you want to just use dowels and the cardboard boards: What you need to do is place your cake on the cardboard board before you ice it. Then place it on another board that is 2-4 inches bigger. Ice the cake all the way down, over the board it is sitting on. (Or cover with fondant) Use the second board as kind of like your base. Once it is smooth and the way you want it, stick it in the freezer for about 10 minutes, till the icing is hard. Then take it out, and run a spatula along the bottom of the cake and release it from the larger board. Place it on your cake with the dowels., straws, etc. You will have a very clean edge.
If you are talking about the wilton plastic pillars, like sps, then you have to cut them so they are completely sunk into your cake. Are you doing this?
What is the best way to make a stacked cake?
I have tried:
* The Wilton method - using cardboard cake circles underneath the cakes. Problem is it leaves a huge gap between the bottom of the cake it's under & the top of the cake it's on.
Why do you have a huge gap in between the tiers with this method? Are you talking about fondant or BC? Do you put a border on the bottom of the tiers?
I don't know why I have a huge gap, but I always do. I guess it's the thickness of the cardboard circle. This is with bc or fondant. I do put a border at the bottom.
I am confused too..what do you mean by Gap?
If you want to just use dowels and the cardboard boards: What you need to do is place your cake on the cardboard board before you ice it. Then place it on another board that is 2-4 inches bigger. Ice the cake all the way down, over the board it is sitting on. (Or cover with fondant) Use the second board as kind of like your base. Once it is smooth and the way you want it, stick it in the freezer for about 10 minutes, till the icing is hard. Then take it out, and run a spatula along the bottom of the cake and release it from the larger board. Place it on your cake with the dowels., straws, etc. You will have a very clean edge.
If you are talking about the wilton plastic pillars, like sps, then you have to cut them so they are completely sunk into your cake. Are you doing this?
That's how I was icing my cakes using the foam core board. I stopped using the cardboard circles. Now that I think about it, I was using a size too small (so the board wouldn't show) - so for an 8" round I'd put a 6" round circle under it. So the board wouldn't get iced too, because it would be too far in under the cake.
I'm going to try to pull up a picture so you can see what I mean.
If you look at the bottom of this cake, you'll notice that the border starts to actually go under the cake (and to me that's a pretty big border), so there was a pretty big gap there.
I used the SPS system for the first time last week and it was wonderful! It was the first time I travelled with a stacked cake in place and nothing moved. Granted, it was only 2 tiers and the trip wasn't far, but you haven't sent the road I have to travel to get off of the hill I live on - 15% grade, curvy and bumpy! I made my cakes 4" high and it was wonderful and cheap! I highly recommend it.
I used the SPS system for the first time last week and it was wonderful! It was the first time I travelled with a stacked cake in place and nothing moved. Granted, it was only 2 tiers and the trip wasn't far, but you haven't sent the road I have to travel to get off of the hill I live on - 15% grade, curvy and bumpy! I made my cakes 4" high and it was wonderful and cheap! I highly recommend it.
I have been using SPS for years and will never go back to anything else. I have delivered up to 4 tiers (i would even do five, but then it gets too heavy!) and knock on wood, have never had a cake shift on me. I even use it for topsy turvey cakes and never dowel or skewer again.
And you cannot bet the price!
Just wondering...i'm self taught and have always just pushed one straw in then pulled it out to see how deep i need them all to be. Then i cut all of straws to that one length and push them as far as i can into the cake..place cake ontop...Is this the proper way? Or am i suppose to let the weight of the cake push those straws into the cake?
I've not had any problems thus far but then again i don't do many stacked cakes. I'd like to avoid problems if i can.
mom2spunkynbug, I think as another member posted, that your dowels or supports may be too high on the tier beneath, cut them level to the cake surface. Try using cakeboards the same size as the cake also for better support and easier serving.
Sweetcravings - it sounds like you are doing it the right way, I too insert one support, mark it to where it needs to be cut and than take it out and cut the rest to match. 
I carry straws around in my emergency bag incase I get a really heavy cake topper that needs support from the florist...they are easy to just push in and then cut while in the cake. But I would never in a million years use straws as support for my tiers. My cakes are very heavy and I would never trust straws to support them. And I have heard so many horror stories about straws slipping!! I heard of one decorator in our area who got their cake all set up and left, and some of the straws on the bottom tiered colasped and the entire cake went down with it! Use something sturdier..if anything, use wooden dowels!! Straws are for drinking, not supporting cake!!
I liked the idea of keeping a larger circle under the smaller cakes to avoid gaps. I am a newbie and have only decorated 3-4 cakes so far. I want to make a 4 tier cake next month for family and friends. The cake will be all buttercream since I have never worked with fondant before.
This may sound silly but how do you stack a cake w/o leaving any fingerprint or spatula marks on the lower tier?
For the top cakes..using foam core for the circle baords beneath them...do you have to cover the foam core with something to avoid it absorbing moisture from the icing???
For the top cakes..using foam core for the circle baords beneath them...do you have to cover the foam core with something to avoid it absorbing moisture from the icing???
I was covering mine with contact paper.
What is the best way to make a stacked cake?
* Foam core board- with this method there is no gap, but it is extremely time consuming. I have to bake the cakes, then trace out a circle from my plastic wrapped cake, then cut out the circle with a hot knife, then measure & cut out contact paper, then wrap the top & sides with the contact paper, then measure & cut another piece of contact paper for the bottom. I love the look, but it takes so much time.
I haven't read the other responses, but I use foam core and don't go thru all of the stuff listed above--if I had to do that, I'd find another method, too!
I trace the bottom of the cake pan onto the foamcore (and the parchment that goes in the pan) and cut the foam core with my hot knife while the cake is baking. After the cake is cooled, I put it on the board & ice.
I say this all the time--YOU DON'T NEED TO COVER FOAM CORE WITH ANYTHING BEFORE PUTTING THE CAKE ON IT.
I use Wilton plastic dowel rods cut with a serrated knife for support and I "stick" the foamcore to the dowels with sticky fondant. Maybe I'm just lucky, but no problems so far--knock wood.
I prefer this method because I can do borderless cakes and I can have tiers any height or diameter that I want.
Just my honest .02
Rae
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